Hair curler



April 22, 1969 c. D. KLINK HAIR CURLER Filed Nov. 28, 1967 INVENTOR. 62/;1'0212 B Au/vK BY l United States Patent 3,439,686 HAIR CURLER Cliiford D. Klink, 11456 Copeland St, Apt. C, Llynwood, Calif. 90262 Filed Nov. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 686,005 Int. Cl. A45d 2/12 US. Cl. 132-40 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates generally to hair curlers and more specifically to a hair curler including a clip that can be entirely removed from the curler tube while the hair is being wrapped thereon and that when attached to the tube positively will not slip relative to the tube.

Description of the prior art There are no hair curlers known to applicant that include a removable clip which, when attached to the curler tube, is positively prevented fromslipping thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is characterized by a hollow tube including a plurality of prong-receiving holes spaced about its periphery intermediate its ends. A clip is provided for being attached to the tube for holding hair wound thereon captive. The clip includes a pair of opposed resilient latching elements for engaging opposite ends of the tube and a radially inwardly projecting prong for engaging selected ones of the prong receiving holes to prevent the clip from slipping on the tube.

Objects and features of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a curler embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the hair curler shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of the hair curler shown in FIG. 1, hair being shown wound thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The hair curler of present invention includes an elongated hollow tube T and a detachable clip C. The tube T includes a series of air circulation apertures and a plurality of prong-receiving openings 17. The openings 17 are disposed intermediate the ends of the tube T and are elongated in the longitudinal direction of the tube.

The clip C may be made of plastic and includes a longitudinal plate 19 having a protruding bearing surface 20 on its underside and a pair of oppositely disposed end 3,439,686 Patented Apr. 22, 1969 ICC- flanges, generally designated 21 and 22. The flanges 21 and 22 extend radially inwardly over the respective ends 23 and 24 of the tube T and include confronting grooves 25 for receiving the ends of the tube wall. The lower lip 26 of the grooves 25 is arcuate to complement the diameter of the tube T. The inner surfaces 27 and 28 of the flanges 21 and 22 are sloped upwardly and inwardly, as viewed in FIG. 5, whereby the flanges 21 and 22 will be spread apart as the clip C is pressed onto the tube T.

The clip C includes a prong 31 which is offset from the flanges 21 and which extends radially inwardly for engagement with selected ones of the prong-receiving openings 17. The prong 31 is flared away from the flanges 21 and is tapered, terminating in a point 33 for ease of insertion between strands of hair. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the flanges 22 and 23 do not lie on the radius of the tube T but angle slightly toward the prong 31 to enable the clip C to be used on various diameter tubes T.

In operation, the clip C is entirely removed from the tube T while the hair H is wound on the tube. After the hair H has been wound on the tube T the clip C is attached to the tube T near the roots 35 of the hair, as shown in FIG. 6. The clip C is installed by extending the pointed prong 31 inwardly through the hair H on the tube T and through a selected one of the openings 17. With the prong 31 being flared away from the flanges 21 and 22, the clip C can be positioned on its side with the flanges out of contact with the tube T while the prong is being inserted. Since the openings 17 are closely spaced around the circumference of the tube T and are elongated, the prong 31 can easily be directed and will be guided into the proper opening 17 even though such hole is covered by strands of hair H. With the prong 31 engaged, the plate 19 is pressed downwardly to cause the protruding bearing surface 20 (FIG. 6) to be pressed firmly against the underlying hair H to hold it firmly in place. As the plate 19 is pressed down the flanges 21 and 22 are brought into contact with the tube T and the wedge surfaces 27 and 28 will engage the ends of the tube and cause the flanges 21 and 22 to be spread apart to clear the ends of the tube wall and enable the grooves 25 to register with the wall ends 23 and 24. Thus, the hair H will be held firmly captive between the clip C and the tube T and the clip C cannot slide relative to the tube T to enable the hair H to become loosely wound on the tube T.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the hair curler of present invention is straightforward in design and relatively easy to manufacture. The offset prong 31 provides for ease in attaching the clip C to the tube T and maintains the clip C in its proper position on the tube T.

I claim:

1. A hair curler comprising:

an elongated hollow tube including a plurality of prongreceiving openings spaced around the periphery of said tube intermediate its ends; and

an elongated clip including a pair of opposed resilient latching elements for engaging the opposite ends of said tube and a radially inwardly projecting prong intermediate said latching elements for being engaged with selected ones of said prong-receiving openings to prevent said clip from moving relative to said tube.

2. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said prong-receiving openings are elongated in longitudinal direction of said tube.

3. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said latching elements include flanges forming grooves for latchingly engaging the ends of the tube wall, said flanges having a tapered inner surface for progressively engaging said end of said tube wall to cause said flanges to be spread apart for clearing the ends of said tube.

4. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said prong is flared away from said latching elements to enable said prong to easily be engaged in a selected one of said openings while said latching elements are maintained clear of said tube.

5. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said prong is pointed.

6. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said prong is offset from a line between said latching elements.

7. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said 10 clip includes:

a bearing surface protruding from the underside of said clip intermediate said flanges and prong and extending longitudinally of said clip for being pressed against the hair wound on said tube.

8. A hair curler as set forth in claim 1 wherein said flanges are angled transversely toward said prong to accommodate various diameter tubes.

9. A hair curler as set forth in claim 3 wherein said prong-receiving openings are elongated in the longitudinal direction of said tube.

10. A hair curler as set forth in claim 4 wherein said 5 prong is pointed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,412,96-3 4/1922 Porter 13240 2,243,173 5/1941 Smalley 132-40 2,720,882 10/ 1955 Solomon 132-40 2,772,681 12/1956 Swenson et al 13240 LOU-IS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

15 JAMES w. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner. 

